Customer Reviews

Finally - The Bats - The first recordings of Jon Brion!

by
powerpopluver

At long last, one of my favorite obscure pieces of vinyl from the early 80's has seen the digital light!
These Bats are the band from New Haven, Connecticut, not the New Zealand guys, and featured Jon Brion, he of legendary producer status, film soundtracks and a great solo album, Meaningless.
How Pop Can You Get was and is a powerful testament to the New Wave era and its conflicting mix of raw emotion, mind-numbing media and musical experimentation. This concept album of sorts has its power pop side with a Cheap Trickish "Not Easy For Me", the Beatle homage "Mr. Peculiar" and gorgeous ballad "Will She Ever Come Around"; Rundgrenesque rock in the form of "Every Night" and "Paranoid Schizophrenic"; a punk rave-up "Living in Alaska", all capped off with an intriguing 5 song medley, "Too Out Bottom of the Ninth". The latter incorporates several musical themes from the rest of the album, hence the concept as they run through a variety of musical styles while tying it all together in the end. Recommendation: Buy the entire album and listen start to finish for the full impact. And while you're at it, check out the pure pop bonus track "Popgun". This much sought-after single tends to fetch top dollar on E-Bay if you can track it down and features a wall-of-sound production that will fill your ears with sweet melody.
Overall, this was one of the few holy grails not yet available in the digital realm until now. Would love a CD release for my collection!

Biography

Formed: 1982 in Christchurch, New Zealand

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

Yet another outgrowth of the seminal Clean, the Bats are an institution on the New Zealand music scene, their melancholy jangle pop sound and infectious melodies consistently defining the kiwi rock aesthetic at its very best. The Bats were formed in Christchurch in 1982 by ex-Clean bassist Robert Scott, ex-Toy Love bassist Paul Kean, singer/multi-instrumentalist Kaye Woodward, and drummer Malcolm Grant; with Scott adopting lead vocal and guitar duties as well as serving as the Bats' chief songwriter,...